fhining fun, he puts out his candles, he needs. Our heart has that piece of pru

them no more.

dence, that it must faften one foot before it loofe another; and therefore, according as the claim to God is ftronger or weaker, the claim to the world and lufts, will in like manner be proportioned.Here I would propose, and say a word or two to three Cafes.

Cafe 1. I am afraid of presumption. Anf Draw near with a true heart, prefs only through the vail to make your claim. Claim for a reft to your foul, and for fanctification, as was faid before; and there is no prefumption. Have you taken him as your own God? Avow your claim to him as fuch: Dishonour not God by cafting a cloak of pretended humility over your unbelief.

Cafe 2. But can fuch an unworthy creature as I make fuch a claim? Anf. If you will not, then I hope you will not claim pardon, grace, or heaven; but you will, you must quit your claim to all these at once, for you must not think to claim these from a God that is not yours in Chrift. Will you then, without reluctance, quit your claim to all these? If not, then claim him, though unworthy. Why talk of unworthiness? Will you ever be worthy of him? No, no; the claim of faith is over the belly of felt unworthiness, and founded on the blood of Chrift alone.

Cafe 3. I would have claimed God in Christ as my God, and I even did it; but Satan has got advantage already of me, and I had to quit the hold. Who ordered you to quit your hold even in that cafe? Not God, I am fure; for he faith, Heb. x. 35. "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompence of reward;" therefore it has been Satan and your own unbelieVOL. II.

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ing heart. And are you not in a poor case for rifing up again out of the mire now, when you have let go your hold of God, as your God in Chrift? This is not the way to rise, your best course is, to act faith again, and renew that claim which you have formerly made, for grace, in order both to juftification and fanctification, Ezra, ix. 6. Pfal. lxv. 3. Jonah, ii. 12.---I now come to the

3. Thing in drawing near to God with full affurance, which was, that you improve your claimed intereft for all your neceffities, without doubting of fuccefs. Chrift has opened heaven to you; and if you have come in through the vail, taken God in Christ as your God, and claimed him as fuch, he would have you to be familiar in his Father's house, and want nothing which is there fuitable to your condition ; but to put out the hand of faith, with full afsurance, that you are as welcome to the heavenly treasures as the blood that purchased them can make you; and that is, welcome to the full. I doubt not but this is the import of the text. Poor empty creature, thou canst not fubfift without communion with heaven; but thou must drink of the fountain, before thou canft meddle with the ftreams; himself must be thine, before the least article of the furniture of the house can be thine ; therefore thou must take God in Chrift for your God, then you must claim him, and, having claimed him, be familiar with him, and all that is his, in the way of believing. In explaining this, I fhall fhew,

I. How the believer fhould be familiar in the house over which Chrift is fet, and thus draw near with full affurance.

II. Why he should be fo familiar.

I. WE are to fhew, how the believer should be familiar in the house over which Chrift is fet, and thus draw near with full affurance.--Upon this I obferve, that he should,

1. Come and tell him all his wants freely, without concealing any thing from him, for this would argue distance and diftruft: Song, vii. 11. "Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages." Faith has a most enlarged defire, it is always in want of fomething, and its work is to beg, to take freely without money and without price; and for that reafon it is pitched upon as the great mean of communion betwixt God and finners; Rom. iv. 16. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be fure to all the feed." And the ftronger faith is, it spreads out the more wants, and spreads them out the more freely before the Lord, as to a friend. Do you want any thing as to which you cannot tell the Lord? It argues either no real need, or elfe little faith. Strong faith is a free communer in heaven, and will conceal nothing, but tell all: Ephef. iii. 12. " In whom we have boldness and accefs, with confidence, by the faith of him." (Boldnefs, Gr. telling all). He fhould,

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2. Come and feek all he needs, without blufhing Heb. iv. 16. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may find mercy, and obtain grace to help in time of need.” Faith coming in within the vail, comes into a friend's houfe; and the more free and familiar it is there, and the less reserved, the more welcome. There are two feekers that do not blush before the Lord in their asking: 1. A proud unhumbled heart, whofe fenfe of need is very small; and thefe, for their fhameleffnefs, get the door caft on

their face 1 Peter, v. 5. " For God refifteth the proud." Luke, i. 5." And the rich he fendeth empty away." 2. A ftrong faith, whofe fenfe of need is very great, which drives away the unbelieving blushes out of the face; and such shamelefs feekers never get a denial in heaven: Luke, xi. 8. "Yet because of his importunity, (Gr. fhameleffnefs), he will rise and give him as many as he needeth."

There is a bleffed fhameleffnefs in faith with full affurance; it makes perfons very familiar in God's house. It can come there at any time, it keeps no fet hours, it can ftep forward at midnight, (Luke, xi. 5.) when doors used to be fhut, and knock at the gates, without fear of giving disturbance. It was a dark night to Job; God had drawn a fable covering over the face of his throne to him; yet faith goes forwards, and draws it by, Job, xiii. 15. 16. (quoted above). See also If. Ixiii. 15. 16. It can plead the relation of a friend to the mafter of the houfe. The believer ftands in many relations to the Lord, and faith fixes on that relation which will ferve its plea beft. If the foul be under particular neceffities, where it must have a friend's help, the foul will claim the help of God as its friend, notwithstanding the infinite difproportion between the relatives. And in this cafe, it can be very full in its demands: Luke, xi. 5. "Lend me three loaves." Poffibly lefs might ferve a friend on a journey, who is to tarry only a night, but ftrong faith is not to be dealt with fcrimply. It must have what will be enough and to spare, for it defires to be more than a conqueror.-Faith thinks no fhame to complain of an empty houfe at home, Luke, xi. 6. and that it has nothing to set before this ftranger. The report faith brings to heaven,

is still of emptinefs, for they that live by faith are always from hand to mouth, and never want an errand to the God of heaven for some supply or other.-Finally, It can confidently borrow, without one word of paying again. See the whole of our Saviour's parable, the defign of which is to recommend importunity at the throne of grace, Luke, xi. 5.-10. This is the way of faith's trading with heaven, without money in hand, and without price to be paid. For faith juft involves the foul in the debt of free grace, and can trade at no other market, for no other is suited for the bankrupt family of Adam.

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3. He fhould even put out his hand, and draw to him, by believing the promises suited to his cafe, and this with a faith of application: Matth. xxi. 22. “And all things whatsoever ye fhall afk in prayer, believing, ye fhall receive them." is the bufinefs of faith, to read the perfon's particular name in the general promife, and to fill up his own name in these promises, which are, as it were, God's blank bills and bonds, and then come forward with them even to his feat, with David's plea Pfal. cxix. 49. "Remember the word unto thy fervant, upon which thou haft caufed me to hope." And this without doubting. They can never be familiar with heaven, who ftand afar off from the promises.--Thou shouldft believe that the promises fhall be made out; they are the words of truth, which fhall have a certain accomplishment. And though the unbelieving world take them but for fair words, thou takeft them for fure words, which are full of mercy, and fhall not miscarry, but shall surely be accomplished at the fet time: Pfal. xii. 6. "The words of the Lord are pure words, as filver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."-Again, believe that they fhall Bb 3

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